Local live-music-for-all initiative Safe Amplification Site Society recently launched a petition aimed at improving BC’s liquor laws, which the group describes as not only outdated, but “ageist, stifling, and dysfunctional.”

“Specifically we are asking for three improvements,” says Safe Amp’s Ryan McCormick, one of the leading voices in the fight against ageism in BC’s liquor laws. “One is to create a new license that allows liquor-serving music venues to allow non-drinking minors on the premises to see concerts. The license could come with restrictions to ensure that minors aren’t able to drink, such as the highly-visible wristbands that venues in California, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and other US states issue to adults so that bar staff and security can easily notice if someone is drinking without a wristband.

“Our second suggestion is to fix the Special Occasions Licensing system and base the categories of licenses on audience size rather than outdated concepts of public and private. This would make it easier to get a license for a small ‘public’ event and potentially harder to get a license for a large ‘private’ event.

“The third necessary change is overturning last year’s unfortunate decision to ban liquor-primary venues from delicensing to host all-ages events. There are links on our petition page to several news stories about this ban.”

The argument is a good one. Roughly 20% of people in this province can not go watch their favourite bands play live because they are not of legal drinking age. It seems rather unfair. Music, especially live music, is generally a positive experience socially, mentally and physically and one that should not be the exclusive right of those old enough to buy booze.

Of course, allowing minors into licensed venues serving alcohol comes with some concerns and those concerns will need to be addressed. On the other hand, the notion that excluding 20% of the population from licensed live music venues in BC will help deter underage teens from drinking alcohol is simply ignorant.

In fact, teens attending a concert at a venue where the service and consumption of alcohol is carefully monitored would be far less likely to consume alcohol than they are now, with such limited options in terms of quality and engaging entertainment and activities. In other words, getting drunk in parks and vandalizing property would be far less appealing if the option of going to see a bad-ass concert was on the table.

Finally, the timing of this petition lining up so closely with the upcoming provincial election is no coincidence.

“We really want to get people talking about this issue as we near the provincial election,” McCormick says. “People can attend all-candidates meetings and call in to debates and ask the candidates why their 17 year old [cousin, niece, son or daughter] can’t go see their favourite band when they come to town. Ask election candidates if they feel those restrictions are right, and if they don’t, ask what they will do to change them if they are elected.”

For more information check out at www.safeamp.org. You can also read and sign the petition here.

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